


The Mommy Solution

by apocryphile



Category: West Wing
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-07
Updated: 2013-01-07
Packaged: 2017-11-24 02:23:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/629248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apocryphile/pseuds/apocryphile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mrs Lyman meets up with the Santos campaign and spreads a little matriarchy magic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Mommy Solution

**Author's Note:**

> Two tumblrites requested some Mama Lyman quality time within a few days of each other. The idea of her meeting Mrs Santos was requested anonymously, but I especially wanted to do this because lovely [Susan](http://leftyleo.tumblr.com/), who is always ever so kind about my scribblings, also asked for it. 
> 
> Having [recently decided she should have been played by Gena Rowlands](http://lovehermindlovehershoes.tumblr.com/post/35731431090/dream-west-wing-guest-stars-gena-rowlands-as), I decided to name Mrs L after the delightful matriarch in Playing By Heart (which seems especially apt as Josh has more romantic fail than all three daughters in that put together).

Helen sighed softly, rubbing her temples.

"Who do I have to impress next? Am I going for money or votes?"

Donna grinned.

"Neither. I think you'll enjoy this one."

"I sincerely doubt that."

Donna just smiled as she led the congressman's wife through the small crowd in the park. Helen frowned curiously when rather than approaching any of the huddles of suit-clad politicos, they made for a solitary figure sitting quietly on a bench. Her confusion deepened when Donna beamed and threw her arms around the elderly woman, who looked peculiarly familiar.

"Mrs Santos, this is Mrs Lyman, Josh's Mom."

Helen's eyebrows practically vaulted her hairline. She found it baffling, and not a little frustrating, that while Josh essentially ran her family's entire life, she knew next to nothing about him. It had only dimly, she realised, occurred to her that he had a hometown and a family, and her assumption that he didn't have much of what one might call a life was based mostly on the stereotypes attached to his profession. Watching the two women next to her clasp hands and smile fondly at each other, she realized that one piece of the puzzle might have been in front of her all along.

She stuck out her hand.

"Please, call me Helen."

"I'm Hannah. And I must say, your children are just precious."

"Well thank you. Your son is..."

When she trailed off, Donna and Hannah both burst out laughing. 

"Infuriating?"

Helen smiled.

"That too. I was going to say that he's the most dedicated person I've ever met."

Hannah's eyes sparkled.

"I know he can be exhausting, but he has a good heart."

"He does. He's done some extraordinarily kind things."

The older woman's face lit up with pride, but it was Donna's reaction which caught Helen's attention. Her face softened into an expression of such affection it felt almost intrusive to watch. Suddenly it seemed urgent that Helen make up for her endless battles with Josh over everything, and she found that she meant every word she said.

"He's one of the most honest people I've met in politics... To a fault, sometimes."

Both women grinned, but before they could answer Lou charged over, beaming.

"Mrs L! Josh told me you'd migrated south."

"Louise! How lovely to see you. Josh, of course, didn't tell me you two were working together again."

Lou took in Donna and Hannah's linked arms.

"Josh doesn't tell anyone much of anything." She leaned in and kissed the older woman's cheek, looking around as she straightened up as though to ensure no one had caught her displaying her softer side. "I'm so sorry but I have to go, and I'm going to have to keep Josh a little longer."

"It's alright, dear. Make sure you're getting enough sleep!"

Laughing, Lou took off. Donna watched her go, looking puzzled. Hannah explained without being asked.

"Louise and Josh were at Yale together. There was a big crowd of them who spent weekends at our place, we were so near. Noah adored her, he practically bribed Josh to ask her on a date. It was a disaster."

Helen shot Donna another sideways glance.

"I wouldn't have thought Lou was his type?"

Donna grinned without a trace of self consciousness.

"Petite angry brunettes? It's not so much a type as a curse of some kind."

Helen laughed.

Hannah reached up to adjust a lock of Donna's long blonde hair on her shoulder, which was level with the older woman's head. Eyes shining, she all but winked at Helen, but said nothing. 

"Matt did mention Josh was seeing Amy Gardner for a while."

"Oh God."

A couple of feet away, Josh stopped in his tracks, covered his face, and pretended to turn back.

"Shall I go and get the Congressman, just to make this extra fun for me?"

"Hello my darling."

"Hi, Mom."

He hugged his mother and then, still looking distracted, absently kissed Donna on the forehead before moving to stand next to her. Helen tried not to stare, but she couldn't help but notice the rosy glow on the younger woman's cheeks, or the wide, beaming smile on Hannah's face. Josh, on the other hand, seemed essentially unaware of what he'd done, grimacing tiredly as he asked whether they were done discussing his dating life.

"Besides," he added with a sigh, "if I had been seeing anyone they'd have kicked me to the curb by Super Tuesday..."

Donna made a face that left little doubt exactly what she thought of a woman who would do that.

"The campaign schedule's tough on relationships." Helen tried to keep her tone even.

Josh laughed softly. "This is where I apologise again, right?"

"At least I get to join you guys on the road..."

He grinned.

"So you think of that as a good thing now?"

"If you tell my husband I said that, I'm revoking your walk-in privileges."

He held up his hands.

"Never not knocking again, I swear."

Hannah shook her head in fond exasperation and Donna giggled, but as Helen smiled at Josh she realized that somewhere, somehow, they'd managed to forge a genuine alliance. And if they were friends, then she definitely wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to embarrass him. Plastering on her best Texan sweetheart simper, she turned back to Hannah.

"So, things didn't work out with Lou... I'm just dying to hear what happened next."

Josh groaned and beat a hasty retreat.

"We'll be done in about half an hour, Mom," he called. "That should give you more than enough time..."

He tugged Donna by the hand after him, and Hannah just smiled until they were out of earshot.

"She's really the only one you need to know about, dear."

"Donna?" Helen looked back to where the two figures stood shoulder to shoulder, both on the phone now.

Hannah nodded.

"I still can't believe we nearly lost her. And then..."

She looked both upset and exasperated.

"She worked for Josh for a long time?"

"Some days he worked for her. And then that awful trip..." She pressed her lips together. "I try to keep an open mind about the politics in that part of the world, but..."

As her expression hardened, her resemblance to Josh became clearer. Helen could picture him, ready to take on all comers to protect his... whatever she was. Far more than a colleague, that much was clear.

"She seems to have recovered well."

"Well, she actually listened to her doctors and kept up her physical therapy, unlike certain people I could mention..."

Helen was confused for a moment until she remembered. 

"Of course, Josh was... injured." She thought for a moment. "I can't imagine he was the easiest patient."

"That was when I realised... Donna never left his side. I'm still not sure he really remembers the first week, if he knows what she put herself through... Once we got him home she was there every day, she learned how to do everything the aides did..."

"It must have been a big help to her, having him there after she was hurt, someone who'd survived something similar..."

Hannah grimaced.

"He... Didn't deal with that all that well. She saw it as a second chance, and he... He wanted to keep her safe, he felt he'd put her in harm's way, he tried to wrap her up in cotton wool... And she quit..." She searched Helen's face for a moment, as though unsure whether to go on. She sighed softly. "If that hadn't happened, I'm not sure whether you'd be out here on the campaign trail at all."

Helen's eyes widened. She drew in a deep breath.

"Until very recently I'd have said that was a good thing."

Hannah patted her hand.

"He turned your world upside down, rather, didn't he?"

"Did he tell you Matt was about to leave Congress, come home to Texas?"

"Oh, I read the blogs, dear."

"You do?"

"Josh emails me every couple of weeks, calls once in a blue moon. I adore Donna, but my heart used to sink when she'd answer his phone. She'd chase him around for me but he's just so busy... I've learned to keep up, so that when we talk he doesn't need to explain everything."

"So how do you think we're doing?"

"I'd be voting for your husband whether or not my son was working for him, dear. He seems like a good man, and I think he's made a good case. That doesn't matter anymore, though. This week it's about putting him in front of as many undecided voters as possible, and there's no one better at that than Josh."

"He's certainly got us running around."

"He forgets other people need sleep... he forgets he needs sleep."

"Maybe you should stick with us, lay down the law."

Hannah laughed.

"He's got Donna. He'll be fine."

"They seem to be OK now... There was some friction when Lou hired her."

Hannah's eyebrows quirked.

"I didn't know Lou was the one who pushed it through."

"She found her when we needed a female face for a sticky choice statement."

"Ah, yes, I remember. It's been wonderful seeing her do so well on television. You should have seen her when she first started working for Josh, she looked like a child."

"I find that hard to imagine... she's got this great watchable quality. Never mind that my husband and I are on there every hour of every day, my daughter's glued to the screen whenever she sees Donna on the news. She's completely enamoured with her, she thinks she's some kind of rock star princess. Getting to hang out with her is a very big deal at the moment."

Hannah laughed.

"She's wonderful with children. The closest I've ever come to giving my oblivious boy a good shake was after I met Toby's babies."

"Toby Ziegler?"

Hannah drew herself up to her full height, eyes flashing.

"A wonderful man, he's been a brother to Josh and the heart of this administration as well as it's voice and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Her tone was fiercely defensive. Helen decided that babies was safer ground.

"He and Congresswoman Wyatt have twins, right?"

"Yes, they must be... Goodness, two and a half now. Beautiful little things, Huck and Molly. Donna adores them. Josh is terrified of them."

Helen chuckled.

"My kids too."

"He really enjoys them though. He said Miranda reminds him of his sister."

"I didn't know he had sister..."

"She died when Josh was small. So he only remembers her as a little girl..."

"I..." Helen's voice failed her, a chill coursing through her. "I don't know what to say. That must have been..." She trailed off, inarticulate with shock.

Hannah nodded.

"It was."

Helen opened her mouth and closed I again, trying to suppress the urge to go looking for her kids, but she needn't have worried.

"How about we go find your babies? I'm guessing you need a hug right about now."

"I..."

Hannah patted her hand. 

"It's perfectly alright, dear. I've had years to get used to it. You never really do, but it gets easier to talk about. But it's an awful thought for any parent, it's only natural you want to check on your little ones now."

Helen nodded, still speechless, letting the older woman take her arm and steer her towards the campaign bus.

"Now, the twins... When they were a few months old, I visited for Thanksgiving, and Andrea had everyone over for drinks. Donna picked Huck up and he wouldn't be parted from her for even a moment all night. He wasn't even six months old, but he had Josh totally sussed, screamed every time he came near. It was ever so funny."

Helen smiled, feeling better as the sound of Peter's voice reached them from under the canopy where food had been laid out. 

"And Donna took it totally in her stride, she did everything for Huck that evening, right up to putting him and his sister to bed. And my son reacted as though it had never even occurred to him that she might have babies of her own someday, and that the very thought of it terrified him." Hannah shook her head in fond exasperation.

"And now?"

Helen had some inkling, but she was curious whether the sort of absent-minded territoriality Josh displayed around Donna translated to how he spoke of her to his mother.

Hannah smiled.

"I think it's up to her now. He's so relieved to have her back he'll be too nervous about making a mess of things to try anything."

"Well, the Donna I know is a force to be reckoned with."

"That she is." Hannah gave the prospective First Lady a long appraising look. "She could be a great help to you, you know."

"She already is."

Hannah beamed, as much pride on her face as when Helen had praised Josh earlier. 

Miranda and Peter came running over, and Helen knelt down for a hug, trying not to cling when they both wriggled away within seconds. 

"Guys, this is Josh's Mom, Mrs Lyman."

Well practiced after weeks on the campaign trail, the pint-sized politicians chorused "nice to meet you" and extended their hands, introducing themselves, but the polished little routine came to an abrupt end as Miranda frowned, hands on hips, peering up curiously at the elderly woman.

"Josh has a Mom? Isn't he too old?"

Hannah laughed and bent down.

"Guess what? We still argue about bedtime."

The little girl's mouth dropped open. Helen suspected Josh might get dragged into the next round of negotiations about staying up late to watch Daddy - or Donna - on TV. She decided that might be a fun decision to delegate. 

Miranda was still a little unsure about how generations worked.

"Whose Grandma are you?"

Hannah smiled patiently. 

"No one's yet. If Josh has children I'll be their Grandma."

This revelation was met with a slow, serious nod. Peter rolled his eyes and wandered off, and Helen resisted the urge to pull him close instead.

"Mama?"

"Yes, mija?" Helen added the Spanish endearment - which she'd instinctively been trying to avoid using in public - without thinking, drawing a warm smile from Josh's Mom.

"Will Josh's babies be Donna's babies too?"

Hannah's face as she tried not to laugh was a picture. Looking over the little girl's shoulder, her eyes sparkled with mischief when she replied.

"He's just coming now, why don't you ask him yourself?"

Helen bit her lip, watching as her irrepressibly curious daughter took off. Josh look startled when she planted herself in his path, and even though they couldn't hear what was said, the two mothers practically had to lean on each other for laughing at the expression on his face, which only grew more baffled as the Congressman joined them and scooped up his daughter. Matt's whoop of laughter carried across the park, attracting curious looks all around, and Josh hid his head in his hands as Donna appeared and Miranda repeated her question. Neither Hannah nor Helen were terribly surprised when Donna took it entirely in her stride, and with a smile in their direction lifted the little girl out of her Daddy's arms and carried her over. They caught the end of her explanation as she drew near. 

"...so you see, when I do have babies I want to do what your Mom does with you guys and be there all the time. And right now I love my job, so I'm going to do that for a bit longer first."

Miranda nodded solemnly.

"I'm going to do that too."

Donna laughed and hugged the little girl close.

"You're going to be so wonderful at whatever you do, Miranda."

Helen beamed as her daughter's face lit up. Donna set her down, linking arms with Hannah again.

"Josh is nearly done, he should be able to get away for lunch."

"You're not joining us?"

"I'd love to, but I think I'm going to let him have you all to himself today."

Hannah nodded sagely.

"Any particular words of wisdom you want me to impart, dear?"

Donna giggled.

"Just remind him to eat and sleep occasionally, and don't let him talk his way out of Thanksgiving. He needs a break."

"I surely will."

The two women hugged, and Helen happily accepted an embrace of her own as Mrs Lyman prepared to leave. 

"The two of you look out for each other!" she called as she walked over to her son. "You can't let those men of yours take up all your time!"

Donna blushed as she waved goodbye. Helen felt a pang of protectiveness for the younger woman, and then another as she watched Josh hug his Mom again and sort of slump in her arms, the diminutive woman practically disappearing as she supported him. Matt grinned delightedly when she made him bend down so she could kiss him on the cheek.

Helen turned to Donna, who was watching with an unguardedly affectionate smile.

"Did my daughter really just ask you whether you and Josh were going to start a family together?"

Donna laughed.

"Almost. She told me Josh said if he had a baby with anyone it would be me, which..." She trailed off for a second, and when she continued there was an almost imperceptible tremor in her voice. "...was nice to hear."

Helen squeezed her arm.

"The two of you have really never talked about having a future together?"

Donna took a deep breath.

"Not in so many words. We..." She smiled, and for a moment she was completely gone from the crowded park in Florida, lost in a memory. "We had a... weird moment a couple of weeks ago."

"A weird moment? Isn't that every few minutes with Josh?"

Donna smiled but didn't take the obvious opportunity to change the subject with a joke.

"He kissed... I mean I... um, I guess we kissed each other." She blushed. "But I think right now we need to focus on the campaign."

Helen made a valiant effort to keep her tone level, and silently promised herself not to betray the girlish confession, however much she'd enjoy her husband's reaction to it.

"Well, not long now."

Donna nodded.

"It's been... a long time coming, though."

"So I've heard."

Donna smiled.

"Hannah gave you the rundown?"

"A little. She said you've changed a lot since he first hired you."

"So has he. We've both been through a lot... each of us, and together."

"She's as proud of you as she is of him, you know."

"She's always been so kind to me. The..." Donna's chin wobbled for a moment. "The very first conversation we had, she had to ask me to tell Josh his father had died. And..." She blinked back tears. "When I got Josh on the phone to her, she asked him if I was OK after having to do that. Her husband had just died, and she wanted to make sure I, who she'd never even met, was OK. She told him to tell me to call my parents."

Helen nodded.

"She told me about her daughter, and walked me straight over to check on my kids."

Donna managed a watery smile.

"She doesn't tell many people about Joni, even now."

"Will Josh mind?"

"That you know? No. He probably won't talk about her, but it's nice for him to know there are other people thinking about her sometimes."

Helen felt her chest tightening again.

"I just can't imagine."

Donna shook her head.

"I don't think anyone can. They lost so many relatives in Europe during the war, and then their little girl, and then Noah, so suddenly, and then when Josh was shot... By the time she arrived in DC he was out of the woods, but Leo said that when he first called her, when they didn't know, she was calmer than he was."

Helen squeezed her hand.

"And you?"

Donna tilted her head.

"I kind of went into shock, but when he made it out of surgery I pretty much lost it, the First Lady threatened to sedate me, and she had the President to worry about."

Helen shuddered, and Donna hastily composed herself.

"The odds of something like that happening again are really, really slim, you have to know that. And with younger kids you'll have even more protection, stricter protocols." She patted Helen's arm reassuringly. "It feels restrictive at times, but the detail has some great people on it."

Helen looked at her appraisingly.

"You just snapped into a whole other mode there."

Donna smiled.

"The worst case scenario is the last thing you need to worry about this week."

Helen nodded.

"That's easier said than done, but I promise to try."

"We'll be keeping you so busy you won't have time. I think this was what counted as a break today, and it's your last one until showtime, I'm afraid."

Helen squared her shoulders and smiled.

"Well, I've enjoyed spending my break getting to know you a little better."

Donna smiled and nodded.

"I appreciate that. I'm sorry if I unloaded on you, I didn't think I'd get so emotional seeing Hannah..."

"It's perfectly alright. I'd love to hear more about your experiences, all of them, if there's ever a chance."

Donna laughed.

"Well, we could all find ourselves with plenty of free time after next week..."

Helen searched her face.

"You don't believe that, though, do you?"

Donna hesitated for a moment, smiling.

"I don't. We're not supposed to say so, but... None of us do." She nodded, more to herself, and then spoke more confidently still. "Josh doesn't."

Helen chuckled.

"Something tells me that even if we lost, free time's a bit of a foreign concept to him."

"Yeah. They'd want him back at the White House, anyway, to help shore up the Bartlet legacy."

"And you?"

Donna bit her lip.

"I don't know."

Helen narrowed her eyes.

"Are you sure about that?"

Donna laughed self consciously.

"I keep forgetting I'm not cryptic."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, something someone said."

"You usually have a pretty good poker face."

Donna nodded.

"I guess... It's nice to think that for once, for this, that I might not have to anymore."

Helen opened her mouth to reply, but Lou came barreling over at even higher speed than she had earlier, a phone clutched to her chest.

"Josh called from the car, Vinick dropped out of the Daily Show..."

Donna frowned.

"The congressman was just on..."

Lou grinned.

"I know." She turned to Helen. "They want you, ma'am."

Helen turned immediately to Donna. Without saying anything, she raised her eyebrows slightly. Donna inclined her head - assent.

They were nodding in unison as they turned back to Lou, who relayed the news on the phone.

"It's a yes. And she and Donna are very much freaking me out right now."

Josh chuckled.

"Welcome to my world."

As Lou hung up, she could hear Mrs Lyman's distinctive laugh echoing in the background.


End file.
